Tales of Crimson Wind 1

	Sep 23 2013, 12:34 PM Post #1
Member Avatar
Is back

Posts:
258
Group:
Osiris Red
Member
#462
Joined:
Mar 27, 2013
Active Deck:
Return of the stars
Alt Character:
Claire Anderson

PROLOGUE


It all started, like it often happens, with a death and a burial. The funeral had not been a rich one: there were only a few people, mostly relatives who had still no cognition of the debts they were about to inherit, the coffin had been transported to the cemetery by some wiling young men who had lifted it on their shoulders, because the graveyard was near to the church and paying for the hearse service would have been a waste, and now, in that foggy afternoon, with the drizzle slowly drenching the few people still present, the priest was reading the final, standard, insert-here-the-name-of-the-departed, rites.
A little mutt was sniffing out the people, hoping for someone to give it something to eat. A very old lady dressed in black, one of those who always pop out in every funeral despite the fact that nobody really knows who they are, was crying loudly.

Ike Jones, however, was not crying, for three reasons.
The first reason was that he was the eldest son of the departed man, and thus crying would have been inappropriate to his position.
The second reason was that he wanted to display inner strenght and confidence, in case they were watching. They were everywhere, one could never know how many of them were spying on him at any given time...
The third reason was that he was too excited to be sad for his father's death. Actually, he was overjoyed: he still could not believe the incredible amount of luck he had got, the incredible coincidence that had helped the research he had been working on his entire life. The man whose archaeological discovery had given Ike the proof his theory was right had a daughter, and that daughter was about to enroll for Crimson Wind Academy, the school built on the very site where the greatest secret of the world was kept hidden! The daughter of the man who had demonstrated the truth of Ike's theory would have been there, in the glorious day when he would have finally unveiled the secret, and obtained the final weapon to combat their power and end their conspiracy...

And this was right. It had been the Fate to inspire that admiral to discover the truth about those incredible ruins and his daughter to join Crimson Wind Academy, just now that Ike was investigating the relationship existing between the two things. And it was right that it had been the Fate to guide him, and the world would have been saved from its miserable present by the extraordinary strenght of the Truth he was nothing but a herald of. He had the means and he had the purpose... And so on.
Ike's thoughts usually flowed like this. He was able to think and even speak in italic. Such people should always be kept an eye on.

Possibly from a distance.

Posted Image



Title theme: Tiny Bells



EPISODE ONE: A FAREWELL TO ARMS



The dream is always the same...
...I am in this room, alone...
...The room has no forniture, the walls and the floor are completely white, to the point that distinguishing the boundaries between them becomes difficult... The sensation I get is to be in a seemingly endless white space, completely empty except from myself...
And then suddenly these three shadows, these three dark beings, appear out of nowhere, sorround me, and start growing bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and bigger...
Suddenly the space is full of them, I am soffucating in between the shadows that keep growin bigger and bigger, absorbing and polluting all the air, stripping me of my consciousness...
..And I hear the voice...
Cadet Landvik!
W-who are you? Why are you calling my name? Are you one of these huge shadows? What do you want from me?
Cadet Landvik!
Cadet Landvik!
Cadet Landvik! Do you receive me?
U-uh... Uh? Oh, y-yes sir!

Nanna's theme: Encounter

Nanna Landvik, cadet of the Royal Navy of Norway, woke up in her cabin, in the ship that would have taken her to the island of Crimson Wind, where the world famous Duel Academy was located. Still dizzy from the nightmare she had just had, she was barely able to realize that maybe, just maybe, telling her supervisor for that mission that she had been taking a nap, in the middle of that important transfer, was not a good idea.

I... I am sorry sir, I didn't hear the radio sir... I am a bit seasick, I am afraid...
The daughter of Admiral Landvik and a cadet of the Royal Navy of Norway is seasick? Next time you take a nap in the middle of a mission, you better come up with a better excuse, cadet Landvik...

She could almost feel her embarassment radiating from her, turning into radio waves and being transferred to her superior, who was probably enjoying that...

Anyway, I am not contacting you to scold you or anything. As a matter of fact, I have a message for you from Admiral Landvik...
Fath... I mean, the Admiral left a message for me?
Indeed. It says: "My dear, today is a sad day for me and your mother, since you are leaving our home and our Country on your own for the first time, and we will be missing you. However, it is also a life-changing day for you: the mission I have given you has no importance from the point of view of the Nation or the Navy, but it is crucial for you, for your growth as a person. This trip will finally allow you to overcome your fears, to rise above your insecurities and to become the mature, confident, strong woman I need you to be, to take my place when the day of my farewell to arms comes. So cheer up, don't be homesick, go in that Academy and make me proud: your father will always be by your side, my dear, as he has always been. With love, Admiral Landvik.
Have you received the message, cadet Landvik?
Yes, I have, sir...

That was so typical of her father... His concept of paternal love was to send her to the other side of the world to force her to grow on her own without his protection, and then write her a personal letter having a total strange not only to deliver it, but also to read it aloud, and on a military radio too.
Nanna was still unsure about her "mission": basically she had been ordered to go to a place where people were taught to play a card game for kids, and that was supposed to help her grow up as a person... No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't understand the logic behind it. Her father had tried to explain, then he had tried to persuade her, then he had ordered her to go: she still thought it was a waste of time, but as a cadet she couldn't refuse a mission given to her by an admiral...
And so she had accepted, she had left behind her home, her Country, her parents, her (few) friends, and she was sailing towards a new world, with new people to meet, and new things to learn about a game she had always found to be... A nice hobby at most.

She wasn't excited about it in the slightest.

Very well, cadet Landvik, the time has come: in roughly a hour you will arrive to Crimson Wind Island, and then your mission will finally begin. Starting now you are on your own, I will no longer be your supervisor: if you need to communicate anything to the central command use the reserved e-mail, and don't forget to write home from time to time! Good luck, cadet Landvik...
Thank you, sir...

And the communication was over. With a sigh, Nanna stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. That blue uniform she was wearing, which apparently represented the Dorm she had been destined to, was... Just another uniform, as far a she was concerned: she had been wearing those for the great majority of her life, as a pijama when she was a little girl, then in the academy of the Royal Navy, and now this. An external observer, looking at her reflection in the mirror, would have probably noticed the wide, emerald-green eyes, the short hair of a pale blond that resembled the light of the Midnight Sun, a phenomenon she had seen so many times in her life, the delicate skin and the slender figure. However, when looking at herself she didn't see anything of this.
She was too mad about the absolute lack of breasts.

She was far away from home. She was on a mission whose sense she failed to get. She had no breasts. She had had a horrible nightmare. And that was just the beginning of what would have likely been a long, long day...
Wishing to breathe some fresh air, she exited her cabin: the ship was a very luxurious one, the Academy was a very expensive one but, if they offered such a level of comfort to the students even before they arrived to the actual island, it was absolutely worth the money. The sea around the ship was beautiful, it was a sunny, pleasant day of september, and looking at the waves Nanna felt a bit better: after all, the sea is always the sea, in Norway, in Japan or around Crimson Wind Academy; being a mariner, she  always had a place to call her home after all...
She was just starting to relax when a voice broke into her thoughts, like a thunderbolt in a stormy night.
Ehi you! Yes, you!

Troy's theme: Rival Appears!

Nanna turned around to find herself facing a tall boy. His messy hair contrasted his serious, intense look, a contrast that was mirrored by his clothing: under what seemed a quality jacket, his shirt was crumpled; his trousers were in the same conditions as the shirt, however his shoes were quality ones. The guy had the word "dichotomy" written all over him: Nanna couldn't help but noticing that he was not wearing an uniform like hers, so as much as she knew he could be member of any Dorm, or even a tourist.
Are you, by any chance, talking to me?
Of course I am talking to you! Do you see any other protagonist on the deck of this ship? I have been waiting for the chance to talk to you since we left Silvershine City's dock...

Usually, a young female would have labeled as "pervert" the guy, after he had admitted he had been targeting her for the whole trip... However, Nanna's attention had been caught by a specific word he had used...
"Protagonist"? May I ask what in the world you are talking about?

The boy seemed absolutely disappointed by this answer. It was like his enthusiasm had dropped all at once, just hearing her question.
Oh God, why do I always get the genre blind ones? Would it be too much to ask, just for once, for a more savy protagonist? Or to just give me the role for a change? Oh sorry, I was just thinking aloud: my name is Troy Shepherd and, as the background music should maybe suggest, I am going to be your rival throughout this story. Because yeah, I still don't know your name but it is clear you are the protagonist around here, the third person narrator focused on you since the Prologue was over...

By this time, Nanna was absolutely sure the guy was crazy. She was however thankful that he had revealed his name, this way she would have been able to demand to be placed on the other side of the Dorm, should he be an Obelisk Blue student like her.

Oh, yeah, protagonist, rival, yeah... Eh eh, how couldn't I get it? There is even the... Music, yeah... Eh eh... Well, it has been a pleasure but I am afraid we are arriving to our destination, I need to go check my luggages... So if you don't mind I...
You don't get it, right?
Excuse me?
You don't understand what we are into, who I am, who YOU are, right? Sigh, I always have to explain everything to everyone... Well, I guess it is the price to pay for reading this book before applying for being in the cast of a new fanfiction...

And while saying this, the guy produced a book: the title was The Universal Genre Savy Guide. There was a bookmark around three quarters of it, and the cover looked very old...
Nanna was getting more and more confused by the behaviour of the boy but, out of pure politeness, she felt that she needed to say something to keep the conversation going...
Oh, s-so... So you attempted this strange approach with me because that is what you read on a book? They had me do it for a while, too... It has to do with the difficulty in properly relating with other people, right? It is a sort of...

But the sheer disapproval in the eyes of Troy soffucated her words, forcing her to abandon her line like a sinking ship, an event she was quite familiar with...
You aren't familiar even with the basic terminology, what kind of protagonist are you? Oh well, I guess there I am left with but one choice... If you refuse to understand my words, maybe you will understand the global language of duels!

And with a very scenographic movement, the boy by the name of Troy extended an arm, which somehow prompted his Dueling Disk to activate and slide into position: all Nanna could think was that she didn't recall seeing any sign of a Duel Disk around the boy's forearm, at the beginning of that strange conversation.
Besides, she was still thinking he was absolutely out of his mind.
Global language of duels? Are you implying that you want to duel me? Like, with CARDS?
Oh God... Wake up Nanna! This fanfiction is about Duel Monsters! We are headed to an Academy where they teach young people our age about how to play Duel Monsters! Of course I want to duel you!
How do you know my name? I never introduced myself!
OF COURSE I KNOW YOUR NAME! Damnit Nanna, you are the protagonist, I am your rival, I am SUPPOSED to know your name!

The guy seemed so into his logic, that Nanna was almost starting to see his point. Surely, she was running out of arguments to keep that conversation between the limits of sanity...
B-but... But my Dueling Disk is in my suitcase! And my deck is... Somewhere in my room! I am sorry, but I am not ready for a duel...

It was more or less like telling a Formula One pilot "I forgot the tires of your car at home". Troy seemed really mad at this point.
Holy tap-dancing Horakty, you are SUPPOSED to be ALWAYS ready for a duel! Aren't you some sort of renegade who duels for life? Aren't you an ace of the game? Don't you dream of becoming the next King of Games?
Uh... No?
Sigh... So long for the first female protagonist in the history of this franchise... Go get your Dueling Disk, I will be waiting here...

It could have ended there. Actually, Nanna wanted it to end there. She could have just remained hidden in her cabin, waiting for the ship to arrive at the island, then quickly get off, find her Dorm, and forget about that strange guy. She could have avoided any trouble by doing so.
But for some reason, something within her clicked. For some reason, she felt that was not the right thing to do.
For some reason, 15 minutes and a couple of ransacked suitcases later, Nanna was once again on the deck with her deck, trying not to think about bad puns and focus on the upcoming challenge.
L-listen, I don't really know who you are nor what the hell you are talking about, b-ut... But if I need to duel you in order to find out, then be it!
That's the spirit! Finally you are sounding like a protagonist... Now get redy for action! Since I challenged you and you are a lady, not to mention the protagonist, I will go first!
What the... What about the good old manners? I was expecting you to say "since you are a lady and the protagonist, I'll let you go first"!
Unpredictability is the key to victory! Now prepare, I draw one card!

Troy looked at the six cards he had in hand and smiled, then he took four cards off his hand.
I will set one monster in face-down defense position on the field, and two more set cards in my Spell & Trap zone! I end my turn, now show me if you deserve to be called the protagonist...
Again with this protagonist nonsense? Please start talking in a way I can understand!

Replied Nanna while drawing a card. It had been a while since the last time she had dueled, and she barely remember how to build a strategy: however, those cards had been with her since she was born, she had always been faithful to that archetype (mostly because she wasn't enough interested in the game to do some research and build more than one deck), so she was sure she would have been able to figure out something, she only needed to start playing...

I start by Normal Summoning Elemental HERO Stratos in Attack Position!
[img]http://images.wikia.com/yugioh/images/6/6a/ElementalHEROStratos-YGOO-EN-VG.jpg[img]

The effect of this monster allows me to add another Elemental HERO monster from my Deck to my hand, and I select my favorite monster, Elemental HERO Knospe!
Elemental HERO Knospe? Seriously, your favorite monster is the weakest Elemental HERO that ever existed? You are kidding, right?
Ehi! S-stop making fun of my monsters, ok?
Come on Nanna, stay focused... It has been a while since you last dueled with a real gameplan, and this isn't even your favorite game, but just try and do your best ok? What will the Admiral think otherwise? Come on, if you want to begin this adventure away from home in the best way, you must win this duel...

Meanwhile...

Wait a minute, mister Jones, I am not sure I fully understand... Are you trying to tell us that all the mysteries of archeology, from the Egyptian Pyramids to the Maya ones, from the so called "Chronomalies" to the Nazca Lines, are linked together by a conspiracy which has been carried on through the millennia? And that this conspiracy has something to do with cards?

Preston Withmore, Chancellor of the University of Silvershine City and former professor of Ancient History and Archeology, was used to hearing silly theories about global conspiracies. He was also used to listening to archeologist who claimed to have clear evidences that proved their fantastic discoveries to be autentic. However, this was the first time he was faced with an archeologist who claimed that his fantastic discoveries proved the truth of silly theories about global conspiracies. It was also the first time he heard of a conspiracy theory involving Duel Monsters cards.

I will admit it might sound incredible, but the latest discoveries seem to confirm this theory. As we all know, Duel Monster cards are capable of catalyze the emotions of their wielders, reacting to the good and evil in their heart and radiating mysterious powers.

"As we all know" implies that you are not the only one to believe in such a theory, mister Jones...

Amanda Logan, a world-famous explorer who had been the first one to confirm the existance of an Inca temple in the mysterious Urubamba Valley, just had to point that out. She had always believed that Ike Jones was a complete idiot, and now she was very happy to see that he was embarassing himself with the most absurd theory ever enunciated in that university, proving her right in front of everybody.

There is an interesting research of the University of Boston on this regard, miss Logan... And your sarcasm cannot change the facts...

Ike Jones wouldn't have allowed anyone to interrupt him, this time. He had gathered that selected crowd, choosing carefully the names among the most authoritative figures of the contemporary archeology and his biggest detractors. His plan was to finally prove the latter wrong in front of the former, but the problem with it was that, in most cases, the most authoritative figures were his bigger detractors.

As you know, a recent expedition promoted by the Royal Navy of Norway has discovered some ancient ruins at the bottom of the sea, near the eastern coast of Greenland. According to the first researches, some manufacts found there date back to the tims when Plato lived, which means...

My dear mister Jones, you don't really believe they found Atlantis, do you?

Evidences seem to point in that direction, Chancellor... One of the most interesting manufacts found there was a small stone tablet... Will you look at the photographs?

They looked.

Well... It looks like the tablets found in Egypt, those that are said to be the first examples of Duel Monsters cards... So?

SO it is a big coincidence, don't you agree? We have proofs that the pople who lived in Egypt at that time didn't have the technology to build ships capable of allowing them to sail all the way to Greenland, so how did that tablet end up there?

Maybe the people who lived in that island, now underwater, had come up with a similar game? Assuming the tablet was used for a game, and not for something else...

OR MAYBE they had a common ancestor. Think about it: tablets found in Egypt, South America, and Greenland. Ancient ruins with similar manufacts in the Island of Crimson Wind, where now there is the main building of the Duel Academy... And we don't even have proofs that an acnient civilization existed in Crimson Wind! But somehow, all these stone tablets appared in all these places... Maybe because they were left there by someone who existed before history, before those civilizations even appeared?

Common ancestor theories have existed for decades, mister Jones, and never been confirmed... And now you are trying to prove them right with Duel Monsters cards?

Indeed: please have a close look at the tablet found in Atlan... In Greenland. Doesn't the image look... Familiar?

This time, it took them a closer, more accurate look.

Baphomet? The Medieval symbol of Duality? And what does this prove?

Actually, Baphomet existed in many cultures from the Middle East long before the Crusaders discovered those symbols and turned them into a satanic reference... But think about it: Baphomet is represented in this stone tablet found in Atlan... In Greenland. It exists in european myths and in cultures from the Middle East. And there are images representing it in the ruins beneath Crimson Wind... My opinion is that Baphomet was originally a deity worshipped by this ancient civilization, the common ancestor of all other civilizations of the world, and this explains why it was left behind in tablets and bas-relieves in so many differen places!

And what does it have to do with Duel Monster cards?

I am getting to it: we know that, long before the current Duel Monsters cards were created, the stone tablets that inspired the game were used for religious rites in Egypt. We also know that similar rites existed in South America, and the ruins of a temple dedicated to similar rites exist in Crimson Wind. And now Atlantis. Can't you see the pattern? All these games and these rites were originally a ritual performed by the common ancestor! A ritual to awaken the power of their deity! A ritual that still exists, is still carried on after all these centuries, in the form of what some foolishly consider a game for kids! Billions of people contribute to it, untill one day that terrible power will return to this world, and it will be the end!

In the following days Ike would have remembered that there had been a long silence, at that point. And that the bystaders had avoided to lock eyes with him for a while...
He could almost hear them laughing. Oh, he was so sure they would have laughed after leaving, after making sure that he couldn't hear them!
Those fools: he had unveiled a plan carried on for millennia in front of their eyes, and what did they do? They were very polite, they made some jokes on how that was a big "logic jump" to take, on how he had maybe exaggerated a bit, but there was surely something true in his theories...
Something true.

That day, Ike Jones decided. If nobody wanted to join him in stopping the danger that was menacing the world, if everybody wanted to keep considering Duel Monsters a mere game, and refuse to see its supernatural implications, then he would have been the Finger of Fate.

The problem with the Fate, of course, is that He rarely minds where He points His finger.

IN THE NEXT EPISODE...


To the Next random theme: A Dark Race Becomes Magnificent

The duel for the fate of the world between the evil Nanna and the hero Troy rages on!
U-uh... Troy? Didn't you say I am the protagonist? How comes that now I am "the evil Nanna?"
With a move that will be forever remembered in the manuals of Duel Monsters, Troy summons all his Blue-Eyes White Dragons at once! And he has four of them!
You can't do that!?!?
The doom of Nanna is sealed, as Troy fuses three of his dragons to Summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! The evil cadet has no escape!
After a brutal attack from the mighty dragon, Nanna is blasted off-board, and drowns in the sea befoere even arriving to Crimson Wind!
Wait a minute, you are killing me off?
And with Nanna out of the way, Troy is now officially the protagonist of this fanfiction! Now the true fun can begin!

Next on Blue-Eyed King of Games Troy, Episode 2: the rise of King Troy!